A land of challenges and opportunities T


Despite problems related to infrastructure and processes in some parts of Africa, the continent is providing plenty of scope for air freight companies to grow A major focus will be security. Makhetha


leli Makhetha, general manager at South African Airways Cargo (SAA Cargo), says the carrier’s growth in


Africa is “significant”. He outlined: “We have been


focusing on new expansion to Kigali, Ndola, Bujumbura and Doula. We will soon launch to Cotonou.” In early January SAA commenced new flights into Pointe Noire; however, these offer no cargo uplift as yet, but preparations are ongoing. Intra-Africa traffic has been


Dar es Salaam and Entebbe. “On the international front,


we launched our first-ever non- stop flight to Beijing. SAA Cargo is awaiting the final go- ahead from the Chinese authorities to allow cargo uplift on this route. This decision is imminent,” he confirmed. Makhetha believes there will


“a major growth area” for the carrier in recent years; although starting from a low base, Makhetha noted a sus- tained rise in demand. Among the changes on the intra-Africa network are increased schedules to Lusaka and Maputo as well as new flights to


Freighter operator Avient is upgrad- ing its services into East Africa, switching from a 5-tonne capacity AN-32 aircraft to a larger B737 freighter on routes from Entebbe to Pemba, Mtwara and Juba. Explaining the decision, business


development director Sam Smith noted: “Natural gas was discovered in Tanzania about two years ago and now freight is starting to move.” She went on: “We’re looking for


new opportunities to grow in Africa. There seem to be a number of carriers that have stopped operations and there is a shortage of capacity in some areas. There are more oil, gas and mining operations, which means more cargo.” nAvient now serves 24 destinations across Africa, having recently introduced freighter flights between Johannesburg and Pemba.


Asiafrique Logistics calls for long-term foreign investment


Nicholas Ezenwata, CEO and owner of Togo- based Asiafrique Logistics, says that with a lack of manufacturing in Togo, most freight moving through the country is transhipment cargo. Its exports are mostly natural resources (moved by sea), while imports include telecommunications equipment. There are only two major national telecom-


munications companies in Togo, so air freight volumes are not high. Ezenwata feels if there were more competi-


tion, telecomms companies would import more equipment to enhance their service. “The gov- ernment needs to encourage foreign investors to establish long-term operations in Togo, not just come and go speculations,” he added.


Makhetha notes “imminent” decision on Beijing-bound cargo


always be demand from China to most countries and trade with Africa is increasing. SAA Cargo has seen significant vol- umes over the past few years out of China. “I anticipate that once we start our cargo opera- tions between South Africa and


China, there will be a significant further increase in tonnages on this route.” Elsewhere, the carrier is seeing good loads on flights to Brazil and Argentina, with “a definite


Avient continues to expand its East Africa services


increase in volumes since the launch of BRICS (the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and, as of 2010, South Africa)”. In terms of its fleet, SAA Cargo intends to


replace its current B737-200 freighters, possibly with B737-300Fs, by the end of June.


said: “We are committed to working with the various authorities and ground operators in the relevant countries to make sure ... that our oper- ations comply with the highest levels of global aviation security standards.”


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7 May 2012


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